How to Overcome These 4 Wealth Building Roadblocks

The successful understand that true financial freedom is achieved by building or accumulating money producing assets. These assets include:

Investment real estate

Stocks and bonds

Intellectual property that you’ve created

Your side hustles

Your small business

A franchise business

Ask any millionaire and they’ve likely built their wealth utilizing one or more of these assets. If this is such a tried and true path to wealth, how come most of us haven’t taken it?

1. We’re stuck in comfort zones of misery.

Who among us has not remained in a bad situation we knew we should have gotten out of, but didn’t. Maybe it was a job that made you absolutely miserable or an abusive or unfulfilling relationship. While the situation might have been terrible, the pain was not severe enough for you to make a change, so you went on with your situation comfortably miserable.

That’s often the way our financial lives work. We hate not feeling secure, worry about the future, or feel that there is never enough, but too often we’ve become comfortable with our financial discontent. The pain is not sufficient enough to make the necessary changes. Instead, we complain loudly but do nothing.

To help break the pattern, focus on your “why.” Why is financial freedom important to you? Perhaps you desire a stable financial future for your children. Maybe you’d like to be in a position to give freely to your Church or favorite organization. Whatever it is, your “why” will provide you with the driving incentive to improve your financial situation.

2. We don’t believe we can do it.

“If you think you can do it, or you think you can’t do it, You are right.” – Henry Ford

Real estate investor. That’s what other people do.
Entrepreneur. Not me.
Investing in stocks. That’s a sucker’s bet.

These are beliefs many of us subconsciously absorbed growing up. Entrepreneurship, real estate investing or purchasing mutual funds were things other people did. Instead, we were told that if we studied or worked hard we’d eventually land a well-paying job, our ticket to financial freedom.

As a result, it’s hard for us to see ourselves doing anything other than our 9 to 5. Change your mindset, however, and you’ll change the size of your bank account. Whatever you believe, you achieve. Believe you’re capable of starting your own business or investing in real estate and you’ll accomplish it.

If you’re having trouble changing your mindset, start hanging around people who are doing what you’d like to do. Join forums, online meet-ups or real world clubs and organizations. Even consider befriending possible mentors in your area of interest. Find a local real estate investor who might be willing to take you underneath their wing or local entrepreneur who might be willing to explain their business to you.

3. We’re afraid to take risks.

You’d like to step out of your comfort zone, take the leap and create money producing assets that’ll power you toward real financial freedom, but you’re afraid. It’s natural to feel this way. What if I start my side hustle and fail? What if the stock market crashes?

Unfortunately, if you never take risks you’ll never reap the rewards. Even doing nothing is a risk in and of itself. But here is the reassuring thing; risk can be diminished with knowledge. The more you know about your endeavor the less risky it will be.

If you, for instance, understand that low-cost index funds are one of the safest and best returning investments over the long haul, you’ll be less likely to chase the “latest and greatest” stock idea. If you understand the importance of cash flow when evaluating rental property you’ll avoid bad deals and secure a profitable income producing property.

Your success is dependent on the education you give yourself. Are you willing to read ten or more books on real estate investing? Are you willing to listen to investing podcasts during your commute to work? Would you even be willing to take a class or two on starting your own business at the local community college? Those that invest in their self-education reduce their risks and reap the financial rewards.

4. We tell ourselves we don’t have the time.

It’s easy to convince yourself that you don’t have time to pursue money producing assets. Between work, family and everything else in life, it seems like we hardly have time to breath. But consider that, according to Nielsens, the average American spends more than five hours a day watching television. That’s more than 77 days per year.

It’s simply a matter of choice. We have the time. It’s how we use it that counts. Building your side-hustle, learning to invest in mutual funds, or starting your real-estate investing career will bring far greater dividends than watching Empire or wasting time on Facebook.

Reaching beyond your comfort zone to achieve financial success is never easy. But, as financial guru Dave Ramsey suggests, if you’re willing to live today like no one else, you’ll have the financial ability to live tomorrow like no one else. The choice is yours.

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How to Turn Your Side Hustle Into a Cash Machine

Have you ever considered a side hustle? If so, you’re not alone. According to a recent Bankrate survey, over 44 million Americans now have a side gig. A side hustle can bring in much needed cash and, in some cases, even blossom into a full time entrepreneurial endeavor. If you’re itching to start your money making side hustle, consider these tips:

Identify Your Expertise, Passion, or Solution to a Problem

Every single one of us is in a position to provide something unique to the world. And, if it’s packaged in a way that provides value to others, people will be willing to pay for it.

Consider turning your passion into profit. Carey Heywood devoured young adult paranormal fantasies but soon ran out of books that deeply interested her, so she wrote her own and sold them on Amazon as ebooks. Since writing her first book she has sold over 200,000 copies of her novels.

Find a problem and offer a solution. Do you have a dead deer on your property and don’t know what to do with it? Call Matt Coughlin. The Leesburg, VA landscape project manager makes between $500 and $1000 a month on his side-gig removing dead deer from Northern Virginia properties.

Use your current skills for extra cash. Heather Quinn Gage of Texas used her skills honed as a fundraiser for a non-profit theater company to fuel her side hustle consulting for nonprofit organizations.

Commit a Plan to Paper

“If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail” – Benjamin Franklin

You wouldn’t travel from New York to California without a GPS navigator. Likewise don’t start your side-gig without a written plan. This plan will serve as your road map. What exactly will you offer, to whom, and how? How will you acquire customers? What are your revenue, sales and profit goals? Your plan doesn’t have to be perfect. You’ll refine it and change it as your side-gig grows. The important thing is that you have a plan before you start.

Just Get Started

Do you remember the old Nike slogan, “Just Do It”? It encouraged people to stop procrastinating and just get active. No excuses. Too often we come up with brilliant ideas for a side hustle but never implement them. We’re afraid of failure and our fear paralyzes us.

But here’s the beauty of a side-hustle. If you’re smart with your plan and don’t spend money unnecessarily, your failures will not devastate you financially. If you do fail just pick yourself up and try again. The upside is that your venture could become wildly profitable.

Kick procrastination to the curb by creating a deadline by which you’ll secure your first customer. Set this deadline in stone. Once you’ve actually obtained your first paying customer the motivation to ramp up your side-hustle will kick into high gear.

Carve Out the Time for Your Side Hustle

If you’re serious about creating a new income stream then you must treat your side-hustle seriously. Carve time out of your life to nourish it. Set regular work hours for your side-hustle and honor them just as you do the hours you spend on your regular job. Wake up an hour or two earlier to work on your business or cut out the television or Facebook. You may have to even ask your spouse to take on additional household tasks or learn to say “No” to those social events, clubs, or volunteer activities that don’t particularly interest you.

Solicit Feedback, Make Changes, and Repeat

Your customers’ opinions are worth their weight in gold. Constantly seek their feedback and let that feedback guide improvements in your side-hustle. What’s working? Is there something you could be doing better? Are there related services or products customers might consider purchasing from you?

Don’t Jeopardize Your Day Job

Treat your 9 to 5 with the respect it deserves. Someone is paying you to do a job. As tempting as it might be, refrain from using company time or resources to work on your side-gig. You could get fired or sued. Worst yet, your company could stake claims to the fruits of your side hustle labor. Likewise, check your contract or employee handbook to make sure you’re not subject to a non-compete clause that would prohibit you from performing freelance work that’s too closely related to your current job.

Your side hustle can become a welcomed income stream, but in order to make the big bucks you must treat it seriously by providing it the time, planning, and effort it deserves.